


A Deadly Secret

by Dreamshadow (orphan_account)



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Gen, Marauders, Marauders Friendship, Werewolf Remus Lupin
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-04-30
Updated: 2018-04-30
Packaged: 2019-04-30 05:17:16
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,997
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14489616
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/Dreamshadow
Summary: “Hey Snape, wait up!” Sirius called, but Severus ignored him and kept walking. The last thing he wanted was more humiliation. No doubt James had sent him to taunt Severus.“I saw you poking around the shrieking shack yesterday.” said Sirius, nonchalantly. “Thought you’d be interested in knowing how to get inside”.That stopped Severus in his tracks.





	A Deadly Secret

**Author's Note:**

> Hello Everyone!  
> This is my first time uploading a fic on AO3.  
> So um... I really dont know what else to say...  
> I really REALLY hope you guys enjoy it!

Students were piling out of the classroom, just having finished their transfiguration lesson with professor McGonagall. Somehow turning rats into wineglasses hadn’t been as much fun as they’d thought.  
Severus Snape made it out last, poring over his transfiguration homework. The corridor was almost deserted. His footsteps echoed around the corridor. Just as he rounded a corner, he heard people talking.  
“Having a nice day, Snivelly?” asked a familiar voice. Severus looked up. It was that stuck up Potter and his gang.  
James Potter was standing with arms crossed across his chest. Sirius Black was right next to him, a sly grin on his face. Peter Pettigrew stood behind them, trying to look as if he belonged but failing miserably. Remus Lupin was nowhere in sight.  
Severus glared at them. James Potter and Severus Snape had been enemies on first sight. He remembered his first day aboard the Hogwarts express very well. The way James Potter and Sirius Black had jeered at him and said that Slytherin was for losers like him.  
“Mind your own business, Potter” sneered Severus and started to walk away.  
“Oh, you’re leaving without even saying goodbye?” asked James in a mock hurt voice. “I don’t think so”.  
There was a flash of red and Severus heard James mutter ‘Colloshoo’. Then his shoes stuck to the floor. Severus tried to move but his feet were stuck fast. Severus raised his own wand to counter-curse but Sirius Black beat him to it, shouting ‘Expelliarmus’ and making Severus’s wand to fly out of his to skitter across the floor.Severus felt his face redden with embarrassment and rage.  
“Oh, poor Snivelly” said Sirius. “Are you stuck? Do you need any help?” He asked with mock concern. James and Peter burst out laughing.  
Severus was shaking. How he hated them! If only he could get back at them…….. “Where’s your friend Lupin?” he asked. “Gone on his monthly absence?”  
For a second Severus registered an alarmed expression cross both James and Sirius’ faces, but James regained his composure almost immediately.  
“Well, I’m surprised you are so concerned about the whereabouts of a mere Gryffindor” he said.  
“You don’t fool me!” spat Severus. “I know there is something strange about that boy, and I’ll find out your little secret sooner or later!”  
They didn’t seem very comfortable with this idea but Sirius replied coolly, “well, good luck with that! We’ll see you later, Snivellus”.  
The boys rounded the corner and disappeared, snickering, leaving Severus stuck to the floor like an idiot until professor Flitwick came and unstuck him. Severus walked away, red faced, to the common room, thinking about a way to get back at James Potter.

 

Later that day, Severus was making his way towards the dungeons for the potions lesson with professor Slughorn. The Gryffindors had herbelogy so he wouldn’t be seeing them that afternoon, which was a relief. But unfortunately, Sirius Black cornered him.  
“Hey Snape, wait up!” he called, but Severus ignored him and kept walking. The last thing he wanted was more humiliation. No doubt James had sent Sirius to taunt him.  
“I saw you poking around the shrieking shack yesterday.” said Sirius, nonchalantly. “Thought you’d be interested in knowing how to get inside”.  
That stopped Severus in his tracks. How had Black found out? Severus was sure there had been no one in sight. Well except for a squeaky mouse scuttling about. Surely mice didn’t talk? Sirius must have seen him from the castle. Severus turned around slowly, a look of loathing etched on his face. One of the reasons for Severus to hate Sirius Black was that he was everything Severus wasn’t. Tall, handsome and smart. He and James were both very popular with everyone. Even though they were branded troublemakers, most of the teachers adored them.  
“Even so, why would you want to tell me anything? To tell a teacher that I was poking around forbidden territory and get me punished? I don’t think so!” Severus retorted. Sirius frowned as if the idea hadn’t occurred to him before. “Oh, come on Snivelly! I’m just trying to help!” Severus stared at him incredulously. “I feel sorry about what happened this morning. Being stuck to the floor with no wand can’t be a very nice experience” he smirked. Severus was stunned. Sirius Black wasn’t one to feel sorry for anyone, much less him. “well, I don’t need your help!” snapped Severus and turned on his heel to resume his walk to the potions lesson. But Sirius seemed intent on relaying this information so he continued anyway. “Just push the knot near the lowest branch of the whomping willow. The tree will be immobilized. There is a tunnel right beneath the roots of the tree. It’s a secret entrance to the shrieking shack”. Severus didn’t turn around or slacken his pace, but the information had imprinted itself on his mind. 

 

Moonlight shone through the forest, illuminating the Hogwarts grounds. A lone figure stepped onto the moonlit ground. The night was eerily quiet and Severus shivered involuntarily. He closed the huge doors as quietly as he could and donned his cloak. It was about ten minutes to midnight and he’d be in big trouble if Filch caught him. Nevertheless, he started picking his way towards the shrieking shack. A cold wind whistled about and a wolf howled somewhere. Severus quickened his pace and soon neared the Whomping Willow. Its great branches crashed to and fro making it impossible for anyone to get near. Severus felt his resolve falter as a wolf howled again close by. Too close for his comfort. Perhaps he ought to go back. Sirius must have been taunting him to see if he really would go. Severus was trying to make up his mind whether or not to turn back when a large black shape passed next to him. Severus froze. It hovered near the foot of the Willow, apparently doing something. Then the Willow immobilized, its branches inactivated. The Black shape darted inside. Severus gulped. Did he dare go in? And what was that dark shape? Before he could change his mind, Severus dived for the hole at the foot of the Whomping Willow and disappeared.  
The tunnel was narrow and damp. Severus had to crawl on his hands and knees. He raised his wand and said ‘Lumos’ making a glowing orb of light appear at the end of his wand. It wasn’t much but was enough to illuminate a few feet ahead of him. After what felt like ages of scrambling, the tunnel widened enough for him to stand, though slightly hunched. A light shone through an open door at the end of the tunnel. Someone, or rather something was struggling near the doorway, groaning and twitching. The figure looked humanoid and indistinctively familiar. But before Severus could identify as to who it was, the creature began to change. It was hard to make out in the gloom but its features elongated and the creature before him started to look almost….. lupine. Severus vaguely felt something click at the back of his mind. A transformation... exactly at the full moon…..  
Realization stuck Severus a moment too late. He turned and ran as fast as his legs would carry him. He heard the creature crashing behind him, howling. Severus fastened his pace but it was gaining on him. Severus tried to control his whirlwind of thoughts. Surely he wouldn’t eat another Hogwarts student? But once he changed, there was no controlling him……. Severus felt a tug at his feet and his legs crashed beneath him, tangled in a root. The wolf was almost upon him now. Just then a jet of light arched over his head. Someone shouted ‘Petrificus Totalus’ and the wolf froze. A pair of hands hauled Severus upright roughly and dragged him out of the narrow tunnel. He and his rescuer struggled onto the open and Severus lay on his back, panting from short of breath and fright. He lifted his head to see the wolf howl in frustration, now safely trapped behind the thrashing boughs of the Willow.  
Severus heard a quiet footfall behind and whirled around, his wand poised. But there was nobody there. Then the air in front of him shimmered as his rescuer removed his cloak of invisibility to reveal non other than James Potter.  
Severus had one second to register shock before James started yelling at him. “What did you think you were doing, you stupid little slimeball?! Did you think of proving yourself brave just by prowling around the school at night? Meddling with other peoples’ business and getting yourself nearly killed?” James looked outraged. Even though Severus was intimidated, his detestation for James Potter took over and he cut across James’s ranting. “Oh, and I think it’s all right for you to wander around the school grounds at night? With him? A werewolf…….”  
But James stopped short and stared at him in shock. He clearly hadn’t expected Severus to know about that little piece of information.  
Encouraged by this, he continued “His kind should not be allowed to set foot in the school grounds, much less study in Hogwarts. a.. a monster!” he spat the word like poison. “If the head master knew…” But he got no further. James’s eyes flashed in rage as he pointed his wand at Severus. “Do-not-insult-my-friend” he said, his voice pitched dangerously low. Severus was staring at the wand which was almost touching his throat now. “It’s wrong to judge people by what they are, you should only care about who they are. And for your information, the headmaster already knows about his illness. It was Dumbledore himself who brought him to Hogwarts. Just because you stuck-up Slytherins think them as scum, doesn’t mean we do” James shook his head as if he pitied Severus. “Haven’t you even heard of friendship Severus? Real friends stick up to each other, no matter what condition they have. That’s what friends are for” Severus blinked in surprise. It was the first time James had addressed him by his real first name. “But of course I wouldn’t expect you to understand” James’s voice hardened again. “You Slytherins only care about your ambitions, not about other people”  
But Severus had had enough. “You set me up, to get me killed” he said. James narrowed his eyes. “No, even though I despise no one else more than you, I am no murderer. But how did you find out about the shack?” Severus nodded his head more firmly now. “You set me up” he repeated “You and Black. He wanted me to come tonight. That’s why he told me”  
James lowered his wand and said in a confused voice “Sirius? Sirius told you?” He shook his head “He would never………..he couldn’t….” but lapsed into silence without finishing the sentence. James’s face contorted in fury. Suddenly he turned towards Severus. “Well, what are you waiting for, Snivellus? Go and hide in your common room, before I unfreeze the Willow again.” He looked towards where the wolf was scrabbling at the ground near the roots of the tree. “Poor boy, he must be itching to get out” said James. But Severus didn’t stay around to find out. He was already sprinting back, up the slope towards the school entrance. He heard James’s taunting voice behind him “I don’t think you would be visiting the shrieking shack anytime soon, right Snivelly?” James laughed a hard and humorless laugh. Severus reached the edge of the summit and looked back. James Potter had disappeared. But he thought he saw a stag canter past nearby. Severus turned and made his way back to the castle and to the safety of the Slytherin common room. Yet there was a small spark of triumph inside him. After all he had guessed correctly. The boy’s monthly absences, the howling coming from the shrieking shack at the full moon. Severus now knew their big secret; Remus Lupin was a werewolf.

**Author's Note:**

> So, Did you guys enjoy it???  
> This was written nearly 3 years ago.... I was a very inexperienced writer then so this isn't my best effort....  
> But still, I really hope this was a good enough fanfic.  
> Thank you for reading!


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